The United States took over the top spot in the latest A.T. Kearney global retail e-commerce index, pushing china down to second place.
The study noted the continued growth in the US, its improving economy, and higher consumer confidence. E-commerce growth in 2014 rose by 15%.
While the Asia Pacific e-commerce market continues to grow—soon it will be the world’s largest region in terms of online sales, many Asia countries declined in this year’s Index.
China has seen its e-commerce market continue to expand, but the report said it declined one spot to due to slightly weaker e-commerce growth and questions about its longer-term macroeconomic conditions, particularly regarding infrastructure investment and consumer spending.
“The boom in e-commerce has brought challenges—both brick-and-mortar leaders and major pure-play online retailers are learning that the future of the industry is not merely online, but rather in creative omnichannel offerings that link online and physical shopping,” said Mike Moriarty, A.T. Kearney partner and co-author of the study.
The Global Retail E-commerce Index is a ranking of the top 30 countries based on nine variables, including select macroeconomic factors as well as those that examine consumer adoption of technology, shopping behaviors, infrastructure, and retail-specific activities.
Other Asia-Pacific countries in the top 20 were Japan (4), South Korea (7), Australia (10), Hong Kong (12) and Singapore (14). Only Hong Kong moved two places up in the ranking, from No. 14 in 2013 to No. 12 in 2014.